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Sunday, July 23, 2017

Bilbao and Donostia (San Sebastian)

Basque country fun

I have heard a lot about the food in Basque country. In the middle of summer, i choose to go north to cool off =). So off to Bilbao and San Sebastian!

Bilbao
City of Bilbao, and of course the Guggenheim
With only one day, i aim for the main sights in Bilbao. On first arrival, Bilbao reminds me of London, with the weather! It drizzled and stayed gray for the whole day and I understood why Barcelonians say the weather isn't good in the basque country =)

The city shrouded in mist
Bilbao feels like a vibrant city trying to establish its identity while retaining the traditional values.

The city of Bilbao from Ercilla Hotel Roof Top Bar
It also reminds me of a Paris-wannabe but didn't quite have the vibe and buildings to pull it together in the old city. On top of that it has the modern buildings to complement the Guggenheim museum, and the entire juxtapose is random and confusing.

The theater and old city area in Bilbao
City hall with the river (and yes, i had to brighten the shot as it's so gloomy)
Taking the funicular to see the city from the hill top
Another beautiful building in Bilbao
Cathedral in Bilbao
I decide to visit one of the museum in Bilbao and i picked the Museum of Fine Arts as it has a large and complete selection of Spanish arts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilbao_Fine_Arts_Museum

Museum of Fine arts, showing the juxtaposition of old and new in the building
I decide to splurge on a Michelin star restaurant as i figured if i'm going to eat at a Michelin restaurant, the basque country is the way to go! And I have time in Bilbao for a 3 hours lunch =)
I picked Etxanobe as it has an emphasis on seafood.

Entrance to the restuarant
Interior of Etxaonobe
I had a fantastic meal, journeying through cuisine and ingredients important to the basque country in Etxanobe. It is on the list of my top 10 best meals in my life!

My lunch in Bilbao - Octopus ball, Black bean pint with bacon mousse, white truffle with almond soup, anchovy lasagna (specialty of the resturant), grilled tuna with sumec, Salmon bonbon with black rice, shrimp gel with shrimp tartare, leg of duck with tranparent potato, cod fish with squid ink, fennel mousse with strawberry wafer and tomato gel, tangerine ice cream made on the spot with nitrogen gas

San Sebastian (Donastia)
Bird's eye view of San Sebastian
It truly is unique, facing the ocean with 3 huge beautiful beaches, and surrounded by mountains. Donostia is the basque name for San Sebastian. It totally took me by surprise at how gorgeous it is.
Being small facilitates management of touristy spots which is an advantage.
San Sebastian people are also highly proud of their heritage, food and city too.
http://wikitravel.org/en/San_Sebastian

I took a bus from Bilbao and it's a little chaotic trying to figure out the bus as it's not labelled going to San Sebastian but the final destination Irun. And it turns out this bus is late when i'm going to St Sebastian and coming back to Bilbao. ^_^;

Chaos in the bus station
But it all worked out and u can see the route in the google map from Bilbar to Eibar to San Sebastian.

google map route
Woo.. First view that greeted me when i came out from the bus station
Gorgeous buildings
The theater
Street view that's very Paris-like
After gawking at the historical Paris-like building, i decide to take a pintxos tour that explain the history of this city and a lot more of it makes sense after that.
This is a city that started its life as a military fort by King Navarro. But Napolean conquered it for 2 years and it was freed by Allied military. However, the city was betrayed by the Allied army which looted the city and destroyed it completely by fire.
After that the people decide to rebuild the city, took a risk to  invest in beautiful buildings for wealthy French and Europeans to vacation there instead of a military fort. Of course, French are the wealthiest and they make the streets mimic Paris to attract their visits.
The queen of Spain declared San Sebastian to be a royal vacation site for 2 generations, which further cement tourism in the city.
Tour guide and the tour group for the Pintxos tours

The 3 tapas bar that we went, with fried cod balls, meat croquette and fish cake melt
The guide (whose name i cannot pronounce =)) told us about how the fort wall was penetrated where the current market is. And it's called La Bretxa (the hole) noting the historical moment.
The farmers sell their produce at the stands and there's some really great looking produce!
He also explained how they planted the flowers at the fort wall location at the Boulevard in remembrance to the location.
The market with farmers selling fresh produce
Row of flowers denoting the previous fort wall

Ex bull ring in the square, with numbers on each windows denoting terrace  number for patrons


View of the main playa near the city
View of the city hall with the monument at the back
View of the city hall from the front
After the pintxos tour, i took a boat tour to see the city from the ocean.

Ships Ahoy!
Gorgeous view of the city from the ocean
Having time on my hand, I roamed around the city and visited 3 more bars and ate more pintxos  =)

My favourite tapas bar Antonio Bar with shrimp crepe, squid tempura and foie
Iomba bar with foie/quail egg, mushroom pastry, shrimp with fish paste


Tapas bar with famous cheese cake
Stuffed with pintxos, i decide to climb up the city to visit the old castle. At the top, it's not hard to believe why San Sebastian was picked as a military fort. It has a great view of the city on top of the ocean. And the fort is the only place that you can see all the 3 beaches at the same time
View of the little island Santa Clara from the mountain top

View of the city at the top




Monument on top of the old castle
There's also a jazz festival at the city that weekend. I think i watched the Houston Jazz Quartet for free =) Gorgeous location for a great band
Stage for the Jazz festival by the ocean



Only in Europe, a parking garage for bike at the bus station

Ebro and Tortosa

Ebro Delta
Another educational trip where i learned about Spain geography and culture =) 
This time Cristina and I are headed to the Ebro Delta. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebro_Delta
This is the 3rd largest Delta in Europe, and spams across 1000km. 
There's rice fields all over the Delta and paella is one of the specialty here, on top of selling all kinds of rice including Bomba rice used for paella.

Rice fields where the eye can see
While the Delta is not particularly pretty or memorable, it is interesting to come here and see this body of water and swim in the Mediterranean Sea.

Swimming in the Mediterranean sea

We took a boat tour and saw rattan fields, flamingos etc

Boat ticket
On the boat, with all the retired folks =) 
Protected area for birds where Flamingos are spotted

Different shades of blue observed as the delta merged with the ocean
As the town is small and sleepy, we decide to walk towards the river and chanced upon a really nice restaurant with great paella and local eel!
Great restaurant at the Ebro river

Tortosa
Tortosa took us by surprise at how beautiful it is, together with the tourist attractions!
And yes, it's hot at 34 deg C at 3pm in July! whew!

Tortosa city with old castle wall
The Cathedral has an impressive Roman and Gothic structure, with Baroque influence. 

Baroque church interior in the cathedral
Going to the language school and the convent, we were told how important Tortosa is, at recording documentation throughout the years. It is along the way between Tarragon and Valencia, along the Delta. Hence it's at a very strategic location.
Courtyard of the language school

Real documentation from the old times

We ate lunch at another Paradore location, which is an old castle converted into a hotel.

Old Castle converted into Hotel, a Paradore location
Ana has brought me to one of the Paradore in Alhambra and this is my 2nd Paradore place. 
It has great food and great view of the city! 


View from the Mirador in the Castle


View of the city from the Mirador